Busan, the Best City for Children to Live... 'Busan Children's Expo' Held

BEXCO to Host Children's Expo on 16-17th, Organized by Children's Expo Committee, Supported by City and City Council

Over 10,000 Children and Parents to Attend, Including Mayor Park and 100 VIPs at Opening Ceremony

Busan City announced that the '2024 Busan Children's Expo' will be held at BEXCO Exhibition Center II for two days starting from the 16th.

This expo is hosted by the Children's Expo Organizing Committee and supported by the city, city council, and the city office of education.

The Children's Expo Organizing Committee, which has been holding the Korea Children's Expo annually, is hosting a city-level children's expo in Busan for the first time this year.

With the theme 'Busan, the Best City for Children,' the expo will offer a variety of hands-on experiences and attractions for children, parents, and citizens. Around 10,000 visitors are expected to attend.

The exhibition halls will include the following: ▲Child-Friendly Experience Hall ▲Education Hall ▲Agricultural, Mountain, and Fishing Village Experience Hall ▲Safety Experience Hall ▲Safe Food Experience Hall ▲Health Promotion Experience Hall ▲Game Play Experience Hall ▲Culture and Arts Experience Hall.

Various programs such as animation music performances, an ensemble performance by people with developmental disabilities, and magic shows are also scheduled to take place.

In particular, since the expo is being held locally, the city will operate spaces to promote and offer experiences related to its outstanding policies for the next generation, the children.

Through ▲Children's Proposal Project Zone and ▲Science and Technology Experience Zone, the city will collect suggestions from children and reflect them in municipal administration, while also providing opportunities for science and creativity education.

Additionally, through ▲Our Child Happiness Zone and ▲Our Child Emotion Zone, parents can consult on parenting concerns, and children can learn how to recognize and express their emotions. In ▲All Together Snapshot Zone and ▲Independence Zone, children can enjoy popular photo-taking activities, learn about and support children in need of protection, and receive counseling on sponsoring protected children.

The opening ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. on the 16th at the special stage in BEXCO Exhibition Center II. Over 100 distinguished guests, including Mayor Park, Superintendent Ha Yoonsoo, and members of the National Assembly, are expected to attend and celebrate the opening.

The city plans to use this expo as an opportunity to explore future strategies following its achievement of 'No. 1 in Child Quality of Life 2024,' to listen directly to the voices of children on-site, and to actively reflect these in policies aimed at making Busan a child-friendly city.

Last July, Busan was selected as the region with the highest quality of life for children among 17 metropolitan cities and provinces nationwide in the '2024 Study on the Quality of Life of Korean Children' conducted by Save the Children and Seoul National University Institute of Social Welfare.

As a follow-up, the city has set the goal of achieving first place in all areas and making Busan the happiest city for children, with the strategic initiative 'Do what we do well, even better (3scale up), and do what we can do well, even better (5 level up).' The city is actively pursuing 64 key tasks in four major areas: establishing a foundation for realizing children's rights, safety and protection, health and medical care, and play and leisure.

Mayor Park Hyungjoon stated, "Our city was the first among special and metropolitan cities to receive UNICEF Child-Friendly City certification and ranked first in the 2024 Child Quality of Life Index. We have been striving to improve the quality of life and rights of children, who are the protagonists of the future," adding, "We will continue to respect children's opinions and provide generous support so that Busan can become a world-class child-friendly city and the best city for children to live in."